Wirral Complementary Therapy Clinic

A Short History

Other Practices:

Margaret Lavender also practices at;

Parsons, Lavender & Associates
88 Rodney Street
Liverpool
Merseyside
L1 9AR UK

Tel - 0151 709 6639

No summary on this subject can be complete without a mention of Dr Andrew Taylor Still ‘discoverer’ of osteopathy, as he put it.

From Virginia, he served as an army doctor on both sides of the American Civil War. Following the tragic loss of his wife and three children from meningitis he became disillusioned with the orthodox medicine of the day, known as ‘heroic medicine’ with good reason.

Inspired by the philosophies of the native Americans and principles of Ayurveda (that he learned from two Swamis he met), he founded osteopathy in 1872. Western influences are thought to have been from the medieval art of bone setting still practiced in some remote areas of the UK.

Ayurveda (science of life), originally from the ancient Indian Veda (some of the earliest known Sanskrit texts approx. 5000 BC), is the oldest known health system. It is the original holistic approach to life & health. It is currently being popularised in the West by one its' greatest proponents & widely written authors - Dr Deepak Chopra.

Amongst those who studied under A.T.Still were D.D.Palmer, William Garner Sutherland DO and Dr John Martin Littlejohn. Palmer went on to develop Chiropractics. Sutherland, after many years of research developed cranio-sacral osteopathy (or cranial osteopathy). Like Still he did not accept any credit himself, but insisted that all the answers lay in nature. Littlejohn, a British physiologist with many other accreditations, brought home osteopathy to the UK, to found the first osteopathic college in Britain - The British School of Osteopathy in London, 1917.

In America osteopathy was recognised and incorporated into mainstream medicine in the 1960s. As a result they have specialised medical colleges that osteopathy is taught alongside orthodox medicine.

However, by their own admission, this has meant that some of the focus may have moved away from the original principles of osteopathy.

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Warning The information in this osteopathic website is to be used as a guide only and one should not attempt to treat or diagnose on the basis of this information. If you feel you need help, then you should consult an appropriate primary health care practitioner i.e. doctor, osteopath, chiropractor or other.
Copyright The content of these pages remain the sole copyright property of Margaret Lavender (unless otherwise stated) of Penrhyn House, 1A Penrhyn Avenue, Thingwall, Merseyside CH61 7UP.

A Short History
Other Practices: Margaret Lavender also practices at; Parsons, Lavender & Associates 88 Rodney Street Liverpool Merseyside L1 9AR UK Tel - 0151 709 6639	No summary on this subject can be complete without a mention of Dr Andrew Taylor Still ‘discoverer’ of osteopathy, as he put it.
	From Virginia, he served as an army doctor on both sides of the American Civil War. Following the tragic loss of his wife and three children from meningitis he became disillusioned with the orthodox medicine of the day, known as ‘heroic medicine’ with good reason. Inspired by the philosophies of the native Americans and principles of Ayurveda (that he learned from two Swamis he met), he founded osteopathy in 1872. Western influences are thought to have been from the medieval art of bone setting still practiced in some remote areas of the UK.
	Ayurveda (science of life), originally from the ancient Indian Veda (some of the earliest known Sanskrit texts approx. 5000 BC), is the oldest known health system. It is the original holistic approach to life & health. It is currently being popularised in the West by one its' greatest proponents & widely written authors - Dr Deepak Chopra.
	Amongst those who studied under A.T.Still were D.D.Palmer, William Garner Sutherland DO and Dr John Martin Littlejohn. Palmer went on to develop Chiropractics. Sutherland, after many years of research developed cranio-sacral osteopathy (or cranial osteopathy). Like Still he did not accept any credit himself, but insisted that all the answers lay in nature. Littlejohn, a British physiologist with many other accreditations, brought home osteopathy to the UK, to found the first osteopathic college in Britain - The British School of Osteopathy in London, 1917.

	In America osteopathy was recognised and incorporated into mainstream medicine in the 1960s. As a result they have specialised medical colleges that osteopathy is taught alongside orthodox medicine. However, by their own admission, this has meant that some of the focus may have moved away from the original principles of osteopathy.
We hope you find something here of help or interest. Back To Top
Warning The information in this osteopathic website is to be used as a guide only and one should not attempt to treat or diagnose on the basis of this information. If you feel you need help, then you should consult an appropriate primary health care practitioner i.e. doctor, osteopath, chiropractor or other. Copyright The content of these pages remain the sole copyright property of Margaret Lavender (unless otherwise stated) of Penrhyn House, 1A Penrhyn Avenue, Thingwall, Merseyside CH61 7UP.